Patricia Crown, Leslie Spier Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, and Weatherhead fellow at SAR

Archaeologists acknowledge the importance of ritual a thousand years ago in Chaco Canyon, including calling it a “location of high devotional expression.” Yet, while pilgrimage, feasting, potlatch-style redistribution have all been suggested as possible ritual activity, the precise nature of the rituals enacted in the Canyon remains elusive. Patricia Crown spent two decades documenting the role of cylinder jars in ritualized drinking events in Pueblo Bonito. Drinking rituals are common throughout the world, most often involving consumption of alcohol or caffeinated drinks, including coffee, tea, and cacao. Drinking rituals often reinforce existing social structures, but also provide important opportunities for competition among factions. They are also tied to economic and political systems. What does the use of cylinder jars a millennium ago in Chaco tell us about the ritual, economic, and political life of the inhabitants of Pueblo Bonito? And why did their use end abruptly with destruction of the vessels and the rooms in which they were stored?

This event is free and open to the public. The presentation will take place in the Eric S. Dobkin Boardroom on the SAR campus. Advanced registration is encouraged.

Rashmi Sadana, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, George Mason University and Weatherhead fellow at SAR

Rashmi Sadana, Weatherhead fellow, SAR

What happens when a hyper-modern, state-of-the-art metro rail system gets built on top of and underneath an ancient and modern Indian megacity? Delhi’s new metro system is not just a new way to get around but is also a new set of public places spread over two hundred miles of urban space. With eight lines and 250 stations, the metro has re-framed everyday life for millions and re-painted the urban landscape. Rashmi Sadana has spent the last ten years studying the social impact of the Delhi Metro and the contradictions of what it means to be a world-class city amid social progress and deep inequality. Using an ethnographic approach, Sadana analyzes how the Metro is a vehicle for class, caste, and gendered mobility from the perspective of planners, architects, politicians, officials, and commuters. This presentation reveals the politics of urban development as Delhi-ites step onto the trains and into a new social reality.

This event is free and open to the public. The presentation will take place in the Eric S. Dobkin Boardroom on the SAR campus. Advanced registration is encouraged.

SAR’s third annual Creative Thought Forum series invites members and the public to explore our understanding of where humanity is going in a new age of technological and cultural shifts under the thematic umbrella of “The Future of Work,” through lectures and conversation-style salons.

The series begins on October 16, 2019, with Thomas Malone, the Patrick J. McGovern Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management and the founding director of the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence. In 2004 Malone summarized two decades of research in his critically acclaimed book The Future of Work. His newest book, Superminds, appeared in May 2018 and presents new insights into the power of collective intelligence and collaborative working in a world of quickly changing new technologies.

This series-kickoff lecture is presented at the Santa Fe Convention Center and in partnership with Innovate+Educate as part of the annual CLOSE IT Summit, a global gathering of innovators in education and technology.

If you would like to become an SAR member and receive free admission to this lecture and other benefits, click here.

SAR SALON // Thursday, October 17, 2019 // Salons are offered on the morning following each Creative Thought Forum lecture. The salon is an opportunity for a conversation-style gathering with the speaker for a deeper exploration of the lecture topics. Participation in the salons is limited to 25 people and is a free member benefit; advanced registration is required with priority given to Chaco level members and above. For more information or to register for the salon call 505-954-7231.

The Friday following the lecture, SAR hosts an informal salon discussion with Thomas Malone, the Patrick J. McGovern Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management and the founding director of the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence. The salon is an opportunity for a conversation-style gathering with the speaker and provides a deeper exploration of the lecture topics. Participants will be sent a brief selection of readings prior to the event so that they can familiarize themselves with the speaker’s work.

Participation in the salons is limited to 25 people and is a free member benefit; advanced registration is required with priority given to Chaco-level members and above. For more information or to RSVP for the salon call 505-954-7231 or email archuleta@sarsf.org.

If you would like to become an SAR member and receive free admission to lectures and other benefits, click here.

C.J. Avlarez, Assistant Professor, Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies, University of Texas, Austin, and Mellon fellow at SAR

C.J. Alvarez, Mellon fellow, SAR

This talk offers preliminary answers to three big questions based on both archival research and oral histories: 1) What is desert history? The answer varies depending on whether you ask a scientist or humanist. Alvarez will outline a few ways he believes different disciplines can usefully speak to one another, and why environmental historians have often ignored arid lands. 2) What can we learn from desert dwellers? The dominant narratives about drylands have been produced by romantics, developers, and colonial governments, almost none of whom came from deserts themselves. To counter this, Alvarez will explain his commitment to writing biographies of desert people. 3) Where does the U.S.-Mexico border fit in? The international divide passes through the Chihuahuan Desert, but political borders have the effect of emphasizing difference. An environmental lens, Alvarez argues, reveals important but often obscured similarities between the United States and Mexico.

This event is free and open to the public. The presentation will take place in the Eric S. Dobkin Boardroom on the SAR campus. Advanced registration is encouraged.

Following The Lost City of the Monkey God film premiere at the Violet Crown, SAR hosts Douglas Preston and Steve Elkins along with special guests for a deeper dive into the project’s history, trials, and triumphs. The salon provides participants with a better understanding of the project’s status today.

Navajo historic archaeological sites may seem to receive little attention by Southwest archaeologists; however, as Diné (Navajo) archaeologists enter the discipline of anthropology, they are beginning to research topics and places of significance to the Diné people. The Old Leupp Boarding School (OLBS), a Federal Indian boarding school located on the southwest corner of the Navajo Reservation, in operation from 1909-1942, is just such a place. Although hundreds of Diné children attended the OLBS in the early twentieth century, its history is absent from the literature of Navajo studies. Motivated by her maternal grandparents’ stories of attending the OLBS in the past, Davina Two Bears incorporates non-destructive decolonizing research methods to document and examine the history of the OLBS and the oral history of Diné survivance within the context of this Federal Indian boarding school. Through oral history interviews with Navajo elders, who attended the OLBS in the 1930’s and 1940’s, and a critical examination of historic documents and photographs, Two Bears pieces together the history of the OLBS and narratives of Diné survivance, resistance and resilience in the face of assimilation. She notes that she researches her heritage for the benefit of her Diné people, as well as the education of all Americans.

This event is free and open to the public. The presentation will take place in the Eric S. Dobkin Boardroom on the SAR campus. Advanced registration is encouraged.

“I’m here because I know that I can contribute a little bit to [your study],” said Cesar, a 71 year-old Chicano activist, “and I’m proud of you.”

Fátima Suárez, Mellon fellow, SAR

Fátima Suárez presents on her conversations with 60 Latino fathers in California about what fatherhood means to them, and what significance it plays in their lives. In contrast to widespread academic information about women interviewing men, Suárez suggests that participants did not perceive her as a threat to their masculinity nor did they patronize her. She states that she found Latino fathers conceptualized the interview setting as an extension of their fathering and perceived the interview as an opportunity to support a Latina in her schooling, which they may or may not have been able to do with their own children. Suárez will speak about her research and the possible implications of the data for Latinx studies and for society as a whole.

This event is free and open to the public. The presentation will take place in the Eric S. Dobkin Boardroom on the SAR campus. Advanced registration is encouraged.

SAR’s third annual Creative Thought Forum series invites members and the public to explore our understanding of where humanity is going in a new age of technological and cultural shifts under the thematic umbrella of “The Future of Work,” through lectures and conversation-style salons.

Archaeologist Ruth Van Dyke presents this year’s Linda S. Cordell lecture and shares insights into social, political, and sensorial relationships across the greater Chaco landscape, past and present. She explores how archaeologists can work together with Native peoples to influence the public understanding of contemporary economic/extractive projects, including those in northwest New Mexico.

If you would like to become an SAR member and receive free admission to this lecture and other benefits, click here.

SAR SALON // Friday, February 14, 2020 // Salons are offered on the morning following each Creative Thought Forum lecture. The salon is an opportunity for a conversation-style gathering with the speaker for a deeper exploration of the lecture topics. Participation in the salons is limited to 25 people and is a free member benefit; advanced registration is required with priority given to Chaco level members and above. For more information or to register for the salon call 505-954-7231.

The Friday following the lecture, SAR hosts an informal salon discussion with archaeologist Ruth Van Dyke. The salon is an opportunity for a conversation-style gathering with the speaker and provides a deeper exploration of the lecture topics. Participants will be sent a brief selection of readings prior to the event so that they can familiarize themselves with the speaker’s work.

Participation in the salons is limited to 25 people and is a free member benefit; advanced registration is required with priority given to Chaco-level members and above. For more information or to RSVP for the salon call 505-954-7231 or email archuleta@sarsf.org.

If you would like to become an SAR member and receive free admission to lectures and other benefits, click here.

SAR’s third annual Creative Thought Forum series invites members and the public to explore our understanding of where humanity is going in a new age of technological and cultural shifts under the thematic umbrella of “The Future of Work,” through lectures and conversation-style salons.

Glenn Shepard, the ethnology curator at the Goeldi Museum in Belém do Pará, Brazil. Shepard, an ethnobotanist and anthropologist, presents on work by Kayapo communities who use their warrior image and outside power symbols to combat—via film and new media approaches—the rise of mining and logging projects on Indigenous lands.

If you would like to become an SAR member and receive free admission to this lecture and other benefits, click here.

SAR SALON // Friday, March 27, 2020 // Salons are offered on the morning following each Creative Thought Forum lecture. The salon is an opportunity for a conversation-style gathering with the speaker for a deeper exploration of the lecture topics. Participation in the salons is limited to 25 people and is a free member benefit; advanced registration is required with priority given to Chaco level members and above. For more information or to register for the salon call 505-954-7231.

The Friday following the lecture, SAR hosts an informal salon discussion with Glenn Shepard, the ethnology curator at the Goeldi Museum in Belém do Pará, Brazil. Shepard, an ethnobotanist and anthropologist. The salon is an opportunity for a conversation-style gathering with the speaker and provides a deeper exploration of the lecture topics. Participants will be sent a brief selection of readings prior to the event so that they can familiarize themselves with the speaker’s work.

Participation in the salons is limited to 25 people and is a free member benefit; advanced registration is required with priority given to Chaco-level members and above. For more information or to RSVP for the salon call 505-954-7231 or email archuleta@sarsf.org.

If you would like to become an SAR member and receive free admission to lectures and other benefits, click here.

SAR’s third annual Creative Thought Forum series invites members and the public to explore our understanding of where humanity is going in a new age of technological and cultural shifts under the thematic umbrella of “The Future of Work,” through lectures and conversation-style salons.

Ankur Gopal is the founder of Interapt, an award-winning IT services firm that implements innovative technologies and develops IT workforce training. Interapt’s IT apprenticeship models are being implemented across the nation. Their team is now leading a ten-year plan to help Kentuckians build a sustainable technology ecosystem. His talk explores how families traditionally linked to coal-mining culture are grappling with the need for changing skills in the twenty-first century and the impact of economic inequality on access to training and education.

If you would like to become an SAR member and receive free admission to this lecture and other benefits, click here.

SAR SALON // Friday, April 10, 2020 // Salons are offered on the morning following each Creative Thought Forum lecture. The salon is an opportunity for a conversation-style gathering with the speaker for a deeper exploration of the lecture topics. Participation in the salons is limited to 25 people and is a free member benefit; advanced registration is required with priority given to Chaco level members and above. For more information or to register for the salon call 505-954-7231.

The Friday following the lecture, SAR hosts an informal salon discussion with Ankur Gopal, the founder of Interapt, an award-winning IT services firm that implements innovative technologies and develops IT workforce training. The salon is an opportunity for a conversation-style gathering with the speaker and provides a deeper exploration of the lecture topics. Participants will be sent a brief selection of readings prior to the event so that they can familiarize themselves with the speaker’s work.

Participation in the salons is limited to 25 people and is a free member benefit; advanced registration is required with priority given to Chaco-level members and above. For more information or to RSVP for the salon call 505-954-7231 or email archuleta@sarsf.org.

If you would like to become an SAR member and receive free admission to lectures and other benefits, click here.

The School for Advanced Research, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational institution, was established in 1907 to advance innovative social science and Native American art. Its 15-acre residential campus is located on the historic east side of Santa Fe, New Mexico, the nation’s oldest capital city.